Hi guys, got nailed on the ankle by a Blister Bush on Table Mountain 4 days ago. The resultant rash is getting worse. Any ideas what to treat this with? Not bad enough to worry about visiting a doc yet, but it would be great to get rid of this before I have to put boots on again.
Also, I would prefer to avoid future contact with the bloody stuff, any idea what it looks like?
Any help would be appreciated…

What a pain! I had a huge blister last year right in the middle of my forehead! Kids were scared of me and my friends thought I had leprosy or worse. It didn't bother me as much because I couldn't see it! Prevention is better than cure - the bushes have leaves that look like celery, and yellow flowers that look a bit like pincushions. If you do go through one, cover up with sunblock and clothing. The blister comes out a day or two later. Once it's there, there's not much to do about it though. It'll stick around for a couple of weeks, then peel off. Sorry.

Has anybody managed to get some of this wonderful herb into his or her eyes? Except me, that is.
I have been suffering a red, burning and weeping eye for more than a week and it has not been getting any better.

I see some poor sou l has got blisters from Bubon Galbanum, the wild celery bush.
The active poison is Coumarin, used normally as an anti coagulant in Warfarin the Rat poison, but it has a photo-toxic form when it gets onto the skin and is activated by UV. The reaction is a severe response from the immune system hence the huge serious blisters which should not be broken.
Some mild alkali or anti histamine seems to help, but the asker may want to check the Internet to see if better info there to help.
Regards,
Mike

Thanks guys.
Sorry to hear about the forehead and the eye....ouch!
I'll try some Bicarb. In the mean time a pharmacist suggested using \"Burn Shield\", it stops the burning and irritation.
Interesting that this stuff reacts to UV... Thanks Mike will look out for this stuff and give it plenty of room in future, otherwise the panga sounds like a good alternative.

When I originally wrote about the active poison on Blister bushes in 2005 my information had come from a well known botanist in the MCSA.
My informant was wrong.
There is now an excellent article in Wikipedia at this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notobubon_galbanum

The major differences are that the active poison is not one, but 3 chemicals, and it is NOT Coumarin/Warfarin.

However the chemicals ARE photo toxic and the First Aid is still to cover up to prevent exposure to UV.

Blister Bush used to be likened to Poison Oak and Ivy, where I understand the active chemical is urushiol, so is NOT the same.

Is it just me or is there more of these dastardly things around these days, particularly around Africa and Fountain Ledges area? Global warming, disturbance effect, less mountaineers doing pruning?

as an aside: a year or so ago, just as I was about to head over the railings to use the rap station near Africa Arete, I came across a tourist with her face buried in this presumably "fragant herb". She didn't understand my remonstrations not to do it(I think she was Eastern European or something) but I did my best to stop her. I was eventually using hand signals and I think she got the idea. Eish, now that I know more I guess i should have done more to enlighten her to the treatment/effects...!

This plant is terrible, and I've seen more and more of it on Table mountain's upper slopes over the last few years. We went climbing and only after a day or so my leg suddenly started itching while sitting in the office. It only brushed my leg as we were walking.(it was a hot day with full sun out)
After the itching, the blisters appear(day later) and lasts for a few days, and after the blisters have gone away, the affected area on your skin will remain blotchy and become purple then eventually fade away. My normal skin colour only returned after about 4 weeks.
Learn how to recognise this plant! It's not your friend:)

I've been worried with handling my rope after it went through these, anyone got burned on their hands from this?
My brother once climbed through a bush before we got stuck on a ledge for a long time in the sun. Spent the rest of the holiday indoors buying out all of Cape Town's burn-shield.